Peer-to-peer secondhand marketplace Depop said this week that it’s fully removing its 10% selling fee for users based in the UK. 

Sellers listing items on the platform will now get a higher amount from each sale as part of a wider update to the firm’s fee structure. The usual payment processing fee will still apply.

But it will also see the introduction of “a small marketplace fee for buyers in the UK” from 15 April, which we’re told will support “investment in Depop Protection, customer support, platform improvements and growing the community”. 

Buyers will pay a fee of up to 5% of the item’s purchase price, plus a fixed amount of up to £1, excluding taxes and postage costs.

It’s an interesting development in a marketplace world in which many strategy changes tend to be in favour of the buyer rather than the seller. But this is clearly designed to maximise interest in selling on the site.

Kruti Patel Goyal, Depop CEO, said: “Our mission is to make fashion circular — we want to encourage as many people as possible to choose secondhand instead of new. For years, the Depop community has been championing preloved and vintage fashion and pioneering change in the fashion industry. With more and more people now looking at resale as an alternative to retail, we want to amplify the impact of our growing community by continually finding ways to make it easier to participate in the circular economy.

“This change will give sellers more cash in their pocket from each sale, empowering our existing community — as well as those new to resale — to list more, sell more and earn more while contributing to a more circular fashion system. More listings means more choice for UK buyers at a greater range of price points; enabling them to find the items they love, on budget.”